For those of you who are long range planners, the USCA national rally will be held in Duluth, Minnesota, June 12-15, 2008. The venue will be the Buffalo House/Buffalo Valley Campground http://www.buffalohouseduluth.com/ . The campgrounds are immediately adjacent to the Buffalo House which is a full time restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner so there will be food for purchase on the grounds all day. In addition there is a large structure called Buffalo Junction, capable of seating 250, that we have use of for the weekend for a gathering place, seminars or what ever and a back up in case of rain.

The campgrounds are very nice with quite a bit of shade, a sparkling clean bath house, a large tent camping area [which we have exclusively] and a number of RV sites with water and electric. The RV sites are right next to the tent area so we will actually be together next year. In fact, we have the entire campground with the exception of a few RV sites.

Buffalo Valley is located 12.7 miles from the heart of downtown Duluth. Duluth is an outstanding tourist area with tons of things to do and see. I’ll be posting some suggestions over time but for now, check out http://www.visitduluth.com/ for an overview. We will schedule some group rides to attractions and work to get discounted admissions. There is a really nice zoo nearby and we’re trying to get a children’s program that will take the kids to the zoo for the day.

At this point we are planning to hold both a STEP Novice Sidecar Course and a STEP Instructor Preparation Course before the rally. We must have 12 instructor candidates in order to hold the course. For more information about becoming a STEP instructor got to http://www.esc.org . For information about registering for the Instructor Course, contact Al Olme at al@alolme.com .

If you are planning on getting a motel room, I’ll be posting a listing of a few of the dozens of motels in Duluth but be aware that this is a very busy tourist area and rooms can be expensive and hard to come by. I urge you to reserve early!

That’s it for now. If you have any questions, I’d be pleased to try to answer them if I can. ‘See you in a truly SUPERIOR city in June!

DBL BBL,At this point we are planning to hold both a STEP Novice Sidecar Course and a STEP Instructor Preparation Course before the rally. All this depends on getting enough folks who want the Instructor Course.

Really looking forward to this Al - it's been way too long since we have all seen each other!
It will be 8 years since last in Duluth at the NARMA Sidecar rally - smiling already!!!
Happy Motorin'
Dean in K.C.

Hey Al, Just called the Buffalo House to reserve an RV site. He said that the camp ground was all blocked out for the rally and he was not taking reservation. That I should contact you. Is there a reservation procedure for RVs, is it part of preregistation or is it first come first serve Harold Short Mc Pherson KS

Hey Al, Just called the Buffalo House to reserve an RV site. He said that the camp ground was all blocked out for the rally and he was not taking reservation. That I should contact you. Is there a reservation procedure for RVs, is it part of preregistation or is it first come first serve Harold Short Mc Pherson KS

Harold,

I goofed on this. we don't have a prereg form for RV spaces. SO>>>> If you want to reserve an RV space, contact me at al@lolme.com or 612/759-4666. I'll start a list. Now don't anybody panic, I've got LOTS of RV space. The price for RV spaces is $15/night. that's a big discount from the campground's price. All the spaces have electric and water, no direct connect sewers but there is a dump station. If you have special needs, let me know.

Just reserved two days at Americinn in Proctor MN which is pretty close to the campground. $114.80 per night plus 8.5% tax. We use this chain whenever available. Good value, clean rooms, large continental breakfast.

I goofed on this. we don't have a prereg form for RV spaces. SO>>>> If you want to reserve an RV space, contact me at al@lolme.com or 612/759-4666. I'll start a list. Now don't anybody panic, I've got LOTS of RV space. The price for RV spaces is $15/night. that's a big discount from the campground's price. All the spaces have electric and water, no direct connect sewers but there is a dump station. If you have special needs, let me know.

Al,
does the same go for those of us that are willing to pitch a tent? Mine is about as big as an RV..... 8^P

I goofed on this. we don't have a prereg form for RV spaces. SO>>>> If you want to reserve an RV space, contact me at al@lolme.com or 612/759-4666. I'll start a list. Now don't anybody panic, I've got LOTS of RV space. The price for RV spaces is $15/night. that's a big discount from the campground's price. All the spaces have electric and water, no direct connect sewers but there is a dump station. If you have special needs, let me know.

Al,
does the same go for those of us that are willing to pitch a tent? Mine is about as big as an RV..... 8^P

Basically, NO. First, you don't pay a per night camping fee if you have a tent. Now, I guess I should qualify that and say that it applies so longas you have a "normal" tent. Even a tent the size of an RV shold be fine but everytime I say something these days somneone comes up with an exception. If you tent is of Barnum and Bailey proportions. well. we can talk.

We should have a registration form on line in the next few days and that will help clarify things. It will even have an RV section. The form that will appear in the next Sidecarist will not have space for RV registration [that's the one I was dealing with when I made that statement]

Second, I need to note that while there is electricity and water scatter throughout the tent camping section it is not on the scale of one tent to one set of connections. It will take a little sharing and a few multi-outlet connector to keep everyone happy but I'm confident that we can.

Is it allowable to pay for the RV spot so that there can be parking close at hand? Sorry for all the questions, but Ive never been there. Im still undecided how Im going to arrive. drive down on the hack or wimp out and load up onto the flatbed. If I bring the truck and trailer, Id just as well keep it handy. That way Ill be easy to find 8^p

OH... one more thought. for cooking fires, does the campground dissallow bringing one's own wood? and does the 50 mile rule apply for them if I can bring my own. If I can bring my own wood, Id be happy to bring extra for anyone that is out of state (you can no longer transport wood across state lines without a permit)

Is it allowable to pay for the RV spot so that there can be parking close at hand? Sorry for all the questions, but Ive never been there. Im still undecided how Im going to arrive. drive down on the hack or wimp out and load up onto the flatbed. If I bring the truck and trailer, Id just as well keep it handy. That way Ill be easy to find 8^p

OH... one more thought. for cooking fires, does the campground dissallow bringing one's own wood? and does the 50 mile rule apply for them if I can bring my own. If I can bring my own wood, Id be happy to bring extra for anyone that is out of state (you can no longer transport wood across state lines without a permit)

If you REALLY want to camp on an RV spot you can do it but I'd suggest that you just put your tent near the edge of the tent camping area and park up in the paved lot. I chose this campground in part because of the size. It's just not so big that anything is too far away.

About fire wood... I just don't know yet. I'll check with the campground and I'll post something about it. Buying wood on site is VERY expensive and I'm looking for an alternative that won't break the bank.

I recently made a post where I said that "I've got LOTS of RV space". Well, we're getting in registrations and it appears that either the RV folks register early or we've got more RV's than usual coming to Duluth. We're not hurting yet and we can probably get more spaces from the campground but I urge you to at least send me an email and make your RV registration early.